


the shifting colours (of your kaleidoscope eyes)

by CodeBreaker



Series: THE DIRECTIONS OF ABSTRACT COLOURS [2]
Category: ONF (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, appearances from other groups too probably, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25144774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CodeBreaker/pseuds/CodeBreaker
Summary: It started with a prophecy, with a curse. It demanded blood, it demanded sacrifice.Hyojin refused. He would bring them home safely. He would bring them all home.
Series: THE DIRECTIONS OF ABSTRACT COLOURS [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823824
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. to what secrets the moon knows

_It started with a whisper, quiet and echoing in the endless void._

_It warned of something, dark and bloody._

_Told of sacrifice. Told of despair and tragedy. It told of a prophecy, put into motion upon the next blood moon._

_A curse and a ritual. Of fire and of destruction._

_'Everything you know will shift, pulling the very foundations you built yourself upon from under your feet. Fight or die, rise the victor or fall and lose everything.'_

_So then fall; fall and the empire will burn and you will burn along with it._

* * *

Hyojin woke to the sun already setting. He had slept through the day.

A click; his attention swept across the room towards the door just as it swung open. 

"You're awake." Yuto. He looked like he just stepped out of the ring with a raptor. "Was starting to worry you wouldn't wake up."

He slowly sat up, trying to ignore the sudden stabbing pains that shot through his body. He barely registered Yuto gently placing his hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?"

The question was met with silence, a silence that told him everything he needed to know. 

The memories of the night previous came to him in flashes; something about shades, something about a voice. Something that told him they were not alone in those woods. A presence, something darker.

"Did you dream last night?"

Yuto of all people would know that dreams were never just dreams; they weren't just random. They always had a message, a meaning; told of more, told of change on the horizon.

"Yeah, I did. I don't remember any of it though."

A sigh escaped his lips, Hyojin barely caught it. There was a cold feeling that had taken root in his gut, dark and writhing like the shadows that lived in the darkest corners of the room. They existed, their presence cold and malicious; not unlike the sound of the whispers that haunted last night's dreams. They carried warnings that escaped his waking memory, lost to the veil of sleep, in a realm that only one of them could willingly reach again during their wakefulness.

He felt Yuto's hand move up to rest on the back of his neck. 

"You ready?"

_Inhale_

"Yeah, I am.

_Exhale_

The world fell away, the cold darkness replacing everything around him.

* * *

They were gone.

It was just the two of them now. 

Not dead, however. They both knew that none of them were dead yet. _Yet_. 

What had happened the night prior, Hyojin only remembered in pieces. They had been attacked by shades; nocturnal shapeshifters, aggressive and always watching for their next meal. But they weren't looking for food, not for something to eat. 

No, they all just had targets on their back, put there by someone they've never met, and for a reason that didn't quite reach them. The attack was orchestrated, that much he had gathered from what Yuto had relayed to him. The shades had pulled back after Minkyun let loose a fireball, aimed recklessly towards the largest cluster of shades. But it wasn't enough.

It had never been enough. They only came back but there was someone waiting for a good opportunity, waiting in shadows for an opening. Perhaps there was more than one person, but he would never have found out.

He remembers the hissing in his ear, reminded him of an angry cat but much louder and much more aggressive. Thinking back on it, he was almost sure it had started raining but there was not a cloud in the sky that night. He could distinctly remember a voice that echoed across the clearing, loud and clear even over the sounds of the shades all screeching and hissing. It wasn't in any languages he recognized; an incantation, he supposed, but not for any spell he was familiar with.

Hyojin likely passed out after that because he could remember nothing else, could not remember what happened after the fact. Yuto told him he was only able to grab one person and he just happened to be the one. Said something about if there was anyone that'd get furthest in getting them all back, it'd be him. 

He didn't say anything about how the rest had all but disappeared.

"No leads, huh?" 

Yuto shook his head. 

"No. Nothing we didn't already know." 

_Inhale_

He was going to get them back. He was going to bring them home.

_Exhale_

He'd bring the whole sky down trying; he'd try even if it killed him. 

And it would come damn near close to killing him trying.

* * *

Seungjoon awoke to darkness. He awoke alone, in a room that was not his own and in a place he was unfamiliar with. 

There were whispers floating in the air, though he could only assume it was due to the way sound carried in this place. Everything echoed and reverberated, bouncing off the walls and carried on the wind that flowed through whatever this place was. 

Everything was dimly lit, only by torchlight that was placed in intervals that placed them far enough apart that the shadows in between would be looming.

He only knew this much by watching through the eyes of his familiar; a corporeal extension of himself. He never fully understood the concept of a familiar himself, only knew they were beings of pure magic connected to an individual by sheer force of magic generated by the person. He didn't understand the nuances, or how to fully unleash its full capabilities. The only person he knew of that could do that would be Minkyun. 

Footsteps. 

The sound of footsteps caught his attention. He would've been lying if he tried to convince himself he hadn't jumped at the sudden noise. 

They stopped in front of the door to his room, of which he didn't properly study before trying to examine everything else.

"I see, you're awake." The voice was distorted and warped in a way that he could only attribute to a voice changer, perhaps. "You seem much more defiant than your friends."

How long had it been since-?

"Hm, I suppose that's a good thing, however. Any longer and we might have thought you to be dead. At the very least, your friends have almost awoken several times since being brought here."

Where was this place? Who is this?

"No matter, you're the first to awaken. I suppose I can inform the warden, he'd be happy to see one of you."

There was a low chuckle as they walked away. 

He slowly took a deep breath before turning to scan his room. Fairly bare, just the bed he had been laying on, a chair, and a bedside table. A lantern sat on the table, unlit. He was half tempted to try to light it but ultimately decided to not bother. He didn't need the light right now, anyway.

The warden. That's what the person said, the warden. They (or just him, he couldn't have been sure if the others were in the same place he was) were likely in a prison type place. He wasn't entirely sure what had given him the impression but Seungjoon was almost sure that whoever had spoken to him wasn't human. Without seeing them, however, he couldn't have been sure exactly _what_ they could be.

As it turned out, he didn't have to wait long to find out.

He had been to caught up in his head to notice anyone walk up to the door, he only realized when he heard the jingling of keys and the door creaking as it swung open, letting torchlight flood into his room. 

Just outside his door stood two orcs, towering over the person standing in the doorway. He almost missed them in their shadows.

He almost mistook the person in the doorway for a skeleton. Greying skin that almost looked like it clung to just bones and eyes much too sunken into his skull to be healthy; this guy looked like he should already be at least six feet under. His lips had peeled back into a wicked grin but something told him that it might just be a permanent part of this guy's features.

"Ah, it appears Dragan was correct; you've awoken." His words slurred together, drawing out the vowels of each word and hung onto the ends of each word. He almost missed the command he gave next, directed towards the orcs behind him than Seungjoon himself, "Take him to the chamber."


	2. to find where the darkness lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a lead is hard to find when you don't know what you're looking for

Hyojin couldn't remember the last time he had a headache this bad.

"Where are we going, anyway?"

Yuto had essentially dragged him out of bed the next morning at the asscrack of dawn, saying they had somewhere important to be, to meet some people he thought could help them.

"You'll see."

He sighed but he followed anyway. Yuto brought them down the main street for a good 20 minutes before dipping down a narrow side street. Hyojin had always known Yuto knew many more people than he'd ever talk about. It's not that he's the biggest social butterfly around but he was likable enough that people would naturally gravitate towards him. 

They headed towards the quieter part of town, a part of town that he never really ventured into on his own. But Hyojin never really needed to come into this part of town, though he figured Yuto did, being part of the militia's intel unit; getting to know every inch of home was something he benefitted greatly from, probably.

"You didn't tell me anything when we left, and you're still not telling me anything, Should I be concerned?"

Yuto laughed but didn't say anything. 

' _Guess I have to settle for being left in the dark for a bit longer._ '

After being led down a labyrinth of side streets and back alleys, they stopped at a door. He could hear the quiet sounds of chatter, though he couldn't have guessed there was much of a crowd.

Upon entering, he almost immediately noted the small crowd of people closer to the back. There were no more than 5 people, maybe 6 if he weren't counting right.

"Hey, you get my message?"

The chatter quieted but did not fully cease; one of them glanced over his shoulder. He nodded once before motioning for them to come over.

They did.

Looking around, he quickly figured they'd entered a small cafe of sorts. He couldn't imagine them getting much foot traffic tucked away so far from the main road and in such a hidden away spot.

"It's been a while, Yuto. Must be one hell of an emergency if you're calling _us_ of all people for help."

He didn't say anything as he took a seat, waving his hand for Hyojin to do the same. The little crew eyed him but their expression was more curiosity than anything else. 

"So, you got anything?"

There was a tension there, but it was more because of what could've been; full of anxieties that had yet to be resolved. But the effort to make it casual, turn it into something lighter, was admirable. That much, he'll give them credit for.

"With what little information you gave us? Nah, nothing worth telling you." There was a pause, he could feel the eyes on him, burning into him. "Anyway, I know you're eager for answers, but aren't introductions in order?"

Yuto spared Hyojin a glance before tapping the counter a few times. He barely lifted his hand, only enough to gesture to the people in question.

He didn't introduce them immediately; they would come to him in pieces.

There was Yoonho, who Hyojin quickly learned was once part of the Royal Guard's scouting unit. He had long transferred out but to where was still a mystery to him.

After Yoonho, there was Chan, whom he quickly learned was a captain. The only other thing he had learned about the boy was that he was often on rotation, never on one unit for long.

Sana was the only girl in the group and the one who owned the cafe they were in. She almost always had a smile on, it seemed.

The other two, he would not learn the names of but he did not miss the glances that they constantly threw his way. There was another he had spotted but had disappeared by the time he and Yuto left.

The whole exchange took up the better part of the afternoon and by the time they got home, it was well past sundown.

* * *

They had no solid leads, just a couple of locations that were surrounded by rumours; of which, none seem to be very related to the other.

Yuto and Hyojin sat in the living room, usually too tiny for all of them to ever be in together. But with just the two of them, it was almost too spacious now. A map has been laid out on the floor, taking up a good majority of the floor space, the little dragon Seungjun had brought home had taken to napping in the fireplace. Apparently, fire did little to deter the little guy, nor did it hurt it. 

"So, where do we start?"

Hyojin cast a curious look towards Yuto, an eyebrow raised.

"We're just gonna up and leave?"

He only got a shrug in response. Something about the nonchalance about his demeanor was worrisome to some degree.

"There aren't any rules saying we can't." Yuto had taken to twirling the pen he had been holding between his fingers, a nervous habit more than anything, "Besides, we're technically off duty, anyway. It's not as if we have a post to be at, or an official job to do right now."

He was right. Heaving a sigh, he turned his gaze back to the map. They had marked out a total of five different locations, all about equal distance away. Really, they could try and hit all five places but that would take up a lot of time they likely did not have in the first place.

"Chan says he could find us a way to get to all five faster but I'm not entirely sure if it's entirely the safest bet." Yuto had sighed as he said this, almost exasperated at the idea of it. Hyojin chose not to question it, almost fearing the answer. 

"What are our other options?"

They stared at each other for a heartbeat too long, considering all their (very limited amount of) options.

"Alright, I'll let him know." Yuto rolled up the map, and stretched as he stood up. "We should probably be ready to leave tomorrow evening."

And just like that, they were jumping headfirst into something that they may very well not make it out from.


	3. to reject your impulses

They left for their first destination at dusk the day after the meeting.

Hyojin had arrived at the city gates first. Yuto arrived about five minutes later with three people in tow; Hyojin immediately recognized Chan. He wore light armor, had a large sword strapped to his back, and wore a bright smile that rivaled the sun. The other two were new to him, however, likely friends of either Chan's or Yuto's.

It took about five minutes for Hyojin to learn that Chan was the captain of a squadron that was typically posted in areas of heavy conflict; the other two were high ranking officers that operated directly under him. 

Felix and Minho; they were all still kids, though. It was mildly concerning, but not very surprising. 

"So, you said this could be dangerous?" He remembered asking them, as they stepped into a clearing in the surrounding woods. It had been suggested that they didn't do whatever they had planned within the city's walls.

"Yeah." Chan had said in response. Hyojin could hear the smirk in his voice.

"And why could this be dangerous?" But there was no immediate response to this.

It appeared the others did not know exactly what he had been planning either; the curious expressions they all threw Chan's way was more than enough to tell that much. Chan did not give them any answers out loud, but Hyojin recognized the look in his eyes. The glint of mischief and knowing exactly what was going to happen, there was a certain glee it held in knowing he was withholding information and was looking more forward to their reactions than having them knowing what was about to happen.

"You'll see."

As it turned out, Chan could summon things. Big things. Big things that could quite frankly kill them in an instant if they weren't under his control. They resembled maned wolves, but if they had horns like a gazelle and wings like a dragon. And if they were the size of small wyverns. They howled like thunder and had eyes that held lightning; they were storms that were only barely contained in the form of large wolves.

And it was then that he realized how this could be dangerous.

Affectionately nicknamed Orion's Wolves; but he could not quite remember why, for he was not entirely familiar with the myths surrounding them. What little he did know about them, they traveled at lightning speed. Literally. They traveled quickly by shifting to a lightning form, in a shower of sparks, and rode amongst clouds; they led storms that could flood entire countrysides. They were often associated with bad storms, storms at sea, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

It was dangerous to travel this way because of the risk of being incinerated by the lightning they discharged in their lightning forms. 

But they did not have time to worry about the risks that surrounded their method of travel. 

They had friends to save. 

* * *

The sun was already peeking over the horizon when they finally arrived at their destination. They had spent a better part of the night traveling, only stopping for a few hours to get some rest. 

They landed about half a mile outside of town, a precaution just so they don't have to risk crashing into the middle of town in flashes of lightning, and effectively torching everything in the process. Having the entire town's attention on them upon arrival was not something they wanted.

The entire trip here had been spent in relative silence, only accompanied by the crackling of lightning and the crashing of thunder. He shielded his eyes from the flashes of light as the wolves dissolved into a shower of sparks. 

"Alright, so what the fuck are we looking for?"

There was a quietness to these woods that felt so different than the one that fell around the woods surrounding the capital city; this quiet buzzed, it held an energy that felt much heavier and much darker. It felt like they were walking through a minefield, full of all the things that could blow up in their face and kill them in the time it took them to blink.

"Not what, _who_. There are rumors that someone's trying to summon demons or something." 

It was a ridiculous rumor, really. Demons aren't usually summoned ('usually', Hyojin thought, there was the off chance that someone had succeeded), they often came to you, and when they did, it always meant trouble. He figured that it hadn't been a summoning, that the rumors were simply people talking up the situation for a campfire story. At best, the demon had come around with chaos close on their heels; at worst? Maybe the rumors held some water after all.

"Really? What dumbass would-," Felix's question was cut short when they all heard an explosion; they all instinctively ducked, as if expecting to be hit with debris (or perhaps a stray fireball, it was hard to tell anymore because they often sounded so similar). But when there were no flying debris or flashes of poorly aimed fireballs, there was a sense of unease as all of their attention turned to the town they had been walking towards.

Hyojin inhaled sharply, sharing a look with both Yuto and Chan before they raced off; much to the surprise of both Felix and Minho, who trailed after when they realized they'd be left behind if they didn't.

There were a few more explosions, the flashes were followed by billowing smoke that chased after the clouds above. 

He slowed as they entered the town, their eyes following the closest pillar of smoke. Hyojin's attention slowly panned over to where the yelling came from; he hadn't noticed all the commotion when they arrived, though he supposed all the crackling fires and explosions had largely drowned them out. 

When he couldn't find the cause for panic on the ground, his eyes turned upward; then he realized.

There had been no more explosions when they entered the town. 

Above them, a dragon was perched upon the tallest statue, its golden eyes glinted in the flames that surrounded it as it stared down at them. Its coal-black feathery wings shook as the dragon did, much in the same way a dog would shake off water. The flames around it grew and shrank as if it was in sync with the dragon's breathing.

For a moment, it almost looked like it was grinning.

It roared; the flames grew, almost impossibly large as it did.

Then it took off, disappearing into the smoke from the fire it had created.

* * *

The dragon, as it turned out, was a common sight around the area. 

What was not common, however, was attacking the towns in the area surrounding the hollow where it called home.

It was something short of a miracle that they managed to find a place to stay; housing guests wasn't a high priority when you had repairs to make, he supposed.

"So, no demons but a dragon, huh?"

They had spent the day helping where they could and getting information while they were at it. Well, if they were lucky, and they were already testing the limits of it.

As it had turned out, the dragon had been considered something akin to a guardian before the whole 'burn everything down' had started. It had a name, though none of them could get anywhere in the way of learning what that name was; there was the general superstition that speaking its name would invoke its presence, and after what just happened, that was the last thing anyone wanted to do.

"You think . . . " Yuto had started but trailed off, likely coming to the same conclusion Hyojin had.

The dragon had been fairly good-natured until recently. They shared a look, and that was all they needed to know that they had come to the same conclusion; whatever had made the area's guardian turn on the very people it was said to protect likely had something to do with what (or who, rather) they were looking for.

But it was late again; having spent the day on their feet after traveling for most of the night prior to that, they were all exhausted. One by one, they gave in to the realm of sleep, letting it take them into where dreams and nightmares ruled.

It wasn't long before he gave in too.

Somewhere in the distance, in a place hidden in a labyrinth of tunnels, a lone statue stood bathed in moonlight that showered through the single opening above. Its eyes glowed an unearthly shade of silver, reflected by the nightbloom flowers that grew at the statue's feet. 

From all around, laughter echoed in the cavernous chamber; there was no doubt that everything was falling into place.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is ultimately based on the second chapter of my other fic for onf (the Arcana one).
> 
> Consider it a continuation (if you could call it that).


End file.
